Wait, Memphis is Average?

I really enjoyed the Reinventing Unions article and the Memphis Poverty piece in the Commercial Appeal.  What really struck me about Memphis was the statistics that placed us in the average percentage of poverty levels across the United States.  This intrigued me for a few reasons.  First, it really went against the typical Memphis mentality that is abhorrent toward the city and lacks hope for a better future.  While this mentality is slowly changing it still exists, so I thought it was interesting that Ted Evanoff gave the cold hard facts that show that the proportion of poverty in Memphis is similar to a lot of other "rich" cities like Seattle, New York, and Boston.  Second, the article really gave hope to what seems a rather dire situation.  He interestingly enough places the future of Memphis in the hands of what he terms Poverty Inc.   Many would not think that an economy based on people living in poverty could amount to over 5 billion dollars, but it does and the city can bank on this economy because after all an economy is better than no economy.  Third, WHY ARE POVERTY RATES SO FREAKING HIGH EVERYWHERE? Okay, I know he answers this question by saying that the 2008 depression hit us hard and pushed the lower middle class into poverty, but certainly 40 percent seems extreme in the cities.  This ties in nicely however with the Reinventing Unions article.  I liked the whole  idea of reinventing labor unions to create a more social movement attitude toward labor unions.  I think this is a creative solution to helping unions be effective tools for bargaining because the mentality of the social movement seems to me to be a more appealing approach to demanding higher wages etc.  It also seems to me that incorporating social change goes to the root of the problem and attempts to bring solutions that are meant to last.  I think that these movements from traditional labor unions to more social movements have a place in Memphis as well as most other American cities.  I would, however, like to see the demographics of some of the other cities that Evanoff quoted.  I wonder if social movements could or have already worked for unions that are largely minority?  Does race even have a bearing on this issue at all?